Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, 314 566 9790, SNAPclohessy@aol.com

Yesterday, a Louisville native and former church employee was sentenced to 25 years in prison for molesting boys in Missouri. We urge his former colleagues in his Louisville congregation to aggressively seek out others who he may have assaulted.

In January, Brandon Milburn pleaded guilty to seven counts of sodomy with two kids under the age of 12 in a St. Louis County courthouse. From October of 2008 to April of 2009, he worked at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville.

It’s crucial that law enforcement officials know as much as possible about Milburn’s crimes. He’s young, so he will likely be released from prison. But he could be charged again for other crimes he has committed, if only others with information will come forward.

It’s also crucial that every person he hurts be found and helped. And it’s crucial that any of Milburn’s church supervisors or colleagues who may have concealed his crimes also be prosecuted.

So we beg anyone who has seen, suspected or suffered Milburn’s crimes – or cover ups by church staff – to call police and prosecutors in Missouri immediately.

Milburn returned to Louisville in December 2007 after graduating from college in December of 2007 and was hired by Southeast Christian Church as an Atmosphere and Media Tech.

(In Missouri, he worked at First Christian Church in Florissant, in north St. Louis county. Milburn also worked at Gateway Christian Church in west St. Louis county.)

(In Feb. 2014, he was arrested in Valencia, CA, about 35 miles north of Los Angeles, where he worked at the Real Life Church. In 2010, he was an intern at Discovery Church in Simi Valley, California.)

Doing and saying nothing keeps churches unhealthy and keeps kids in danger. Please, search your conscience, find some courage and call us or law enforcement if you have any information or suspicions about Milburn.

(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. We were founded in 1988 and have more than 20,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)

Barbara Blaine, founder of SNAP, passed away on Sunday, September 24th, 2017. Her dying was sudden and completely unexpected. Words cannot express our sorrow nor are there words to express our gratitude for her relentless advocacy. She truly was a hero. There is an old saying, “well behaved women seldom make history”. Barbara made history and the world is a better place.

Join SNAP Today

50 State AG Call for Grand Jury

Write a letter to the attorney general of your state. Demand, request, and beg them to impanel a grand jury.

Any investigation must be:

independent of and separate from the church

must have subpoena powers and ability to compel testimony under oath

Anything short of these criteria is a sham and whitewash.

In addition, write letters to the editor, make phone calls to politicians as they can apply pressure to keep them responsive to our demand. We need to make efforts to ensure that they follow up on what the state is doing to investigate these crimes.

The Attorneys General of forty states have inquired about the grand jury process in Pennsylvania. Let's get statewide investigations going in fifty states.

Note to Letter Writers

Use your own words and style of writing. Cut and paste from the templates as you wish. Include your experiences, whether as a survivor or as a member of the community. And relate your letter to the state you were abused in or state now living in.